At 31, concussions force Joonas Donskoi into retirement

Since the start of his career, Joonas Donskoi has been recognized as an excellent depth player who can deliver incredible performances on a few occasions. But this is the end of the road for him.

The former San Jose Sharks forward announced his retirement by posting a message on his Instagram account on Sunday evening.

Here’s the message in question.

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Aged just 31, Donskoi is retiring from the game for his health. He has suffered a total of seven concussions in his career.

The most recent occurred in a 2022 pre-season game, when the Seattle Kraken faced the Vancouver Canucks. He came into contact with Kole Lind.

He explained that he wanted to put his family first and spend more time with them. Keeping his health in good shape will certainly help him to be part of their lives for a long time to come.

Although he only played seven seasons in the NHL, Donskoi left his mark with each of the three teams he played for. He became an important player for the San Jose Sharks, where he played four seasons, participating in the Stanley Cup Final with the club in 2016.

But the incredible thing he did for San Jose was to help the team win the first game in its history in a Stanley Cup Final. Then a rookie on the Bettman circuit, Donskoi scored the game-winning goal in Game 3 overtime against the Pittsburgh Penguins.

He signed a contract with the Colorado Avalanche in July 2019. He spent two seasons there, but was most impressive when he scored a hat trick against the Arizona Coyotes in just eight minutes!

The Finn’s career ended with a final NHL season with the Seattle Kraken, who selected him during the expansion draft. He wasn’t mind-blowing with Seattle, but he did make the lineup in the team’s first-ever season.

Donskoi retires after playing a total of 474 NHL games. The 99th overall pick in the 2010 draft collected 208 points, including 80 goals, during his short career.

Highlights

– Crosby is expected to finish his career in Pittsburgh.

– Losing Romell Quioto would be a big blow for the Montreal CF.

– He hasn’t made any friends this one!

“World champion of what? Of the United States?”😂https://t.co/qEdKKPGTIZ

– TVA Sports (@TVASports) August 28, 2023

– The Flyers don’t like facing Crosby in the playoffs.

– Raonic faces a big challenge in the first round.